A selection of artworks owned by the Paisley Art Institute(PAI) including four paintings by Sir John Lavery will be sold at auction in Edinburgh next month to ensure that the artist led body has funds to secure its future.
A core collection will be retained and exhibited at Glasgow Art Club. Although PAI has been part of Paisley Museum and Art Gallery for some years it has now decided to relocate, amid rumours of a rift between the two bodies.
The ‘A Taste for Art’: Selected Works from the Paisley Art Institute Collection, featuring work from The Glasgow Boys including four paintings by Lavery and The Scottish Colourists, is expected to fetch between £1m and £1.5m when sold by Lyon & Turnbull in the capital.
Paisley Art Institute has promoted and supported Scottish artists’ work since 1876. It is a “lively collective run by artists and art lovers which continues to be focused on its original aims including its annual large-scale exhibition for contemporary artists, now in its 135th year”.
The sale will include 100 paintings from the collection. As well as Lavery, there are also works by Sir James Guthrie, Edward Arthur Walton, F.C.B Cadell, George Henry and Edward Atkinson Hornel.
James McNaught, Associate Director at Lyon & Turnbull said: “We were honoured when Paisley Art Institute approached us to discuss an auction. As the market leaders in specialist Scottish Art auctions we look forward to presenting the wonderful works selected by the PAI team to the world and allowing the Institute’s work to continue in perpetuity.”
The Institute’s collection had been held in storage by Paisley Museum. The town’s historic landmark building has been closed since 2018 while it undergoes a £45 million transformation. The recent redevelopment has led the Institute to move its artworks to Glasgow Art Club, a historic city centre members’ club which recently hosted PAI’s 135th annual exhibition.
Until Paisley Museum closed for refurbishment, the Institute had been holding its annual exhibitions there since the mid-1880s, cementing its place at the forefront of promoting and supporting Scottish artists. According to the current PAI President, Joe Hargan, the sale of around 100 paintings will help secure its future as it continues to nurture and advocate for contemporary Scottish artists into the 21st century, providing funds for a new chapter in the Institute’s long history.
Mr Hargan said: “Over its 150 year history the Paisley Art Institute has been through many ups and downs but with determined leadership has maintained its original goal ‘to promote and support the work of Scottish artists’. After working through the challenges faced by the PAI this year it is with pleasure that both the future of the not only the PAI but also the historic Glasgow Art Club will be secured.
“We intend to invest some of the funds from the sale of select works to help refurbish and reinvent the Glasgow Art Club, this will give the PAI a permanent new home for our members and their exhibitions.
“Our funds will help us create new awards and grants for artists, to inspire excellence and make new treasures.”
Work by Sir John Lavery is currently on show at the huge exhibition in the National Galleries of Scotland.
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